Valiant

Into the bitter battlefield that is the hotly contested king of the computer animated cartoon contest comes a new kid on the block. And he's British. Hurrah!

Vanguard Animation step into the fray to take on the American giants Pixar (The Incredibles), Blue Sky (Robots) and DreamWorks (Shrek).

And, dontcha just know it, the cheeky Brit blighters may have clipped their wings.

Imagine the patriotic heartbeat of 633 Squadron and the Dambusters beating to a story of World War Two derring-do... with birds.

Little wood pigeon Valiant (voiced by Ewan McGregor) dreams of joining the Royal Homing Pigeon Service and doing battle with the deadly Hun.

More specifically, he'd love to lock talons with the vicious and feared German falcons - led by the evil Von Talon (Tim Curry) and his trusty wingmen.

The plucky little chap gets his chance when he signs up with the RHPS and is put through his paces by Sarge (Jim Broadbent) ahead of a key mission over enemy lines.

This British foray into a marketplace dominated by the American studio giants is distinguished by a single-mindedness synonymous with Blighty.

Where Robots and The Incredibles cram the screen with an eye-popping feast of silicon-chip-spawned action, this keeps things clean and uncluttered.

A workmanlike McGregor voices Valiant but it is Ricky Gervais' streetwise Bugsy that steals the bally show - imagine The Office's David Brent with (grimy) feathers.

There's a feel of old British sitcoms - particularly Dad's Army - and some splendid set pieces, especially a Lancaster Bomber coming to grief from enemy flak.

The old English stereotype of the dastardly German - revised in the currently climate of political correctness - reverts straight back to the dark days of WWII while there's a refreshing celebration of good old fashioned British decency. Which is no bad thing.

Valiant is a brave move by a fledgling studio. Let's see it soar.

Tim Evans